


To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

by stargatefan_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Episode: s07e21-22 Lost City, Gen, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-22
Updated: 2007-06-22
Packaged: 2018-12-17 17:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11856078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargatefan_archivist/pseuds/stargatefan_archivist
Summary: Jack's clone can't sleep.





	To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Yuma, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [Stargatefan.com](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Stargatefan.com). To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [StargateFan Archive Collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/StargateFan_Archive_Collection).

"To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come." --From Shakespeare’s Hamlet (III, i, 65-68)

"Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask." ~X-Files

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

He couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he was assaulted with the images. They were not horrific, but in a way that made them worse. His dreams were filled with attacking Jaffa, fire and then ice, a huge space battle, and the feeling of being frozen solid. The images were relatively bloodless. The only exception was watching Bray’tac bleed to death from a knife wound. 

Over it all, was a feeling of desperation and despair. In his dream, he felt his mind slipping and out of his control. Normally, he could place his nightmares. They usually fit perfectly with an old mission. But he couldn’t place the images or the battles. 

He should be able to remember what spurred his bad dreams. That alone was disconcerting. He was sure he could place all his other nightmares. Well, all but the one where he couldn’t find Carter. 

He needed to talk to someone. His first choice would be Daniel or Teal’c, but that was no longer possible. He had severed ties with his old life. He needed to keep them severed to stay sane. He thought about calling Jack, but hesitated. It was weird. He would be able to help him sort things out, but things were still too weird between them. Maybe Hammond could spare him some time. Yes, he would talk to Hammond. 

But first he needed to get some sleep. Scratch that, it was time to get up for school. Crap, he didn’t want to deal with high school politics today.

Jon O’Neill sighed and got up to get ready for high school. 

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

Principal Mike Peterson watched as one of the sophomore students, Jon O’Neill, dragged himself through the hallways of the high school. Mike could tell that he had yet another sleepless night, making it a full week. 

Jon had been going to this high school for six months. Summer break was approaching and the whole school was ready for the break. Everyone except Jon. But then, Jon had always been different. He seemed to act like any other teenager, but sometimes Mike noticed a look that didn’t fit the carefree teenager. More disturbing was Jon’s ability to wipe the look away as if were never there. 

Regardless, something was keeping the boy up at night. He wasn’t the type to party all night or stay up for no reason. But for the last week, the kid had been dragging around school without his usual energy. Mike decided to try and find out what was going on. Maybe he was homesick or just plain sick. Mike worried about him since his Uncle, who was supposed to be caring for him, seemed to be out of town an awful lot.

“Jon, I want talk to you for a minute.”

Jon turned and regarded Mike for a minute. “Sure, why not.” Jon’s off the cuff response caught Mike off guard. As principal, most students dreaded talking to him. Mike hadn’t really talked to Jon much since the day he transferred in, but he had heard reports from his teachers that Jon was ‘surprisingly mature’ and ‘easily communicates at an adult level.’ Of course, these glowing reports often came with ‘disrespectful behavior’ and ‘inappropriate humor’ comments as well.

“Right, if you will follow me.”

“Lead on, Kimosabe.”

As they walked to his office, Mike carefully observed the student. He was sporting a carefree look, but it was marred by the deep lines under his eyes and the general air of exhaustion. 

Mike sat behind his desk and gestured to one of the chairs across from him. Jon dropped into it with a sigh.

“What is going on, Jon? When was the last time you got a full nights sleep?” 

“What?” Jon’s face flashed a moment of surprise before the mask dropped. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Mike frowned, “It is obvious to me and several of your teachers that you are not getting enough sleep at night. I have been watching the past several days and so I know that you come in dragging every day. Now, when was the last time you slept through the night?”

Jon’s laugh was unexpected, but his eyes were dark. Mike felt a chill roll down his spine. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. So why bother. I’ll be leaving now. Thanks for the chat.”

Mike was stunned as the teenager just got up to leave. “You can’t leave. We are not done here,” he exclaimed, his voice tight with anger.

The look that the kid turned on him was filled with dark humor. “Or what? You’ll spank me… you’ll yell at me… or maybe you’ll tell my uncle.” The kid stared him down while he held the maniacal grin, not flinching once, until Mike had to look away. “Whoop. Dee. Doo. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m late for class.”

Mike sat in his chair heart racing. “What the hell just happened?” He had just watched the teenager that everyone seemed to like, that would defend the weak, transform into something… deadly. 

He was now convinced that something big was happening to Jon, possibly drugs or gangs. He picked up the phone to call Jon’s uncle and guardian. Someone needed to straighten the boy out. 

The line rang several times before he reached voice mail. “You have reached the office of Col. O’Neill. I am unavailable. Please call 345-6789 to have a message forwarded to me.” He dialed the next number. 

“Control, Sgt Harriman.”

“Yes, Sgt, I’m Principal Peterson from Colorado Springs High School. I’m trying to reach Col. O’Neill. Is he available?”

The silence over the phone was odd. “Uh, Col. O’Neill?… The, uh, Colonel is not available…Is this about Jon O’Neill?” the Sgt asked. Mike could hear paper rustling in the background. 

He frowned at the phone. “Yes.”

Mike heard the sigh over the phone. “I have standing orders to pass on anything to do with Jon O’Neill to the base commander. I’ll go get Dr Weir, sir.” 

Mike was confused. Why would he need to talk to a doctor? Or the base commander for that matter?

After a few minutes, he heard the line click again. “Principal Peterson, this is Dr. Weir, Col. O’Neill’s supervisor. I understand you are trying to reach him concerning his nephew, Jon.”

Mike frowned at the phone again, “Yes, I need to speak with him immediately. Is he available?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’ll send Dr. Jackson over to the school immediately. I have him listed as one of his alternate guardians if Col O’Neill is unavailable for any length of time. However, it will take him several hours to reach you from his location.”

“If he is on Jon’s approved list, then that should be fine.” Mike's frown deepened, “May I ask when Col. O’Neill will return?”

Mike heard her hesitate over the phone, “I can’t divulge that information. Sorry. Dr. Jackson will bring Jon up to speed. Thank you for calling, Mr. Peterson.”

“Yes, thank you.” Mike hung up the phone confused. 

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

Two hours later, the secretary escorted Dr. Daniel Jackson into the principal’s office. “Good Morning, Dr. Jackson. Thank you for coming down on such short notice,” Mike said while standing behind his desk.

Daniel accepted his had warily, “Um, sure. So, what’s going on with Jon?” 

“Well, Jon has been coming in all week extremely tired. I don’t think that he's been sleeping well. When I tried to talk to him, he refused to talk. I’m concerned that he may be getting involved with gangs or drugs.” 

Daniel snorted. “Sorry, it’s just his way to never talk about anything personal. Ever. And he is the last person to do drugs. As for gangs, I doubt it.” 

Mike didn’t like the way Daniel casually dismissed his concerns so casually. He gave a deep sigh, another lost teen because of an inattentive family.

Then Daniel seemed to think of something. “When exactly did this start?”

Mike frowned in thought, “Mrs. Tennison said that it started last Friday.”

Daniel recognized the day. It was last Friday that Jack stuck his head in the Ancient Library, “Friday. I’ll talk to him.” And he got up to leave. “Thanks for bringing this to our attention.”

Mike stood up and shook his hand. “Thank you. I’ll take you to his current class now.”

They walked in an awkward silence down the hallway. Finally, reaching the classroom, the principal opened the door and gestured to the teacher at the front. “Can you send Jon out, please? Thank you.”

Jon squeezed out the door with his pack. His face lit with a real smile. “Daniel, it’s so good to see you. How have you been? How are the rest of the kids?”

Daniel smiled back, “Good, Jon, good.” Daniel turned back to the principal. “I’ll be taking Jon with me now. He should be back next week.” Daniel turned back to Jon, “We have to talk.”

“No problem-o. Let me grab the rest of my stuff.” Jon jogged down the hallway to his locker. 

As Daniel moved to follow him, the principal said his good-byes. “Well, I’ll leave you too it then. See you next week Jon.”

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

Jon felt some of his tension ease as Daniel closed the driver’s side door. “So, what’s up? What happened to Jack?”

Daniel froze behind the steering wheel, how could he know? “I… He… He’s not dead.” Daniel sighed, “He’s in stasis.” Daniel glanced over at him, “So, what’s up with the lack of sleep? Do you know that your principal called me down because he thinks you’re into gangs or drugs?”

Jon regarded Daniel carefully, “Nice try, Daniel. Your problems are my problems, remember.” Jon took comfort in the easy banter. “So, Jack got himself frozen again. Not cool.”

“Cool?”

“Hey, Covert Ops 101, learn the lingo when blending in with the natives.”

“Natives? Since when do Colorado teenagers count as natives?” Daniel replied.

Jon sighed, “Since about six months ago.” He watched doubt cloud Daniel’s face.

“Jon…” Daniel started.

“Daniel, don’t. It was my choice. I’m doing well, really. Doesn’t Jack keep you up to date?”

Daniel frowned, “Not really. He just says that you are adjusting and doesn’t elaborate. He actually discourages any question about you.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Yeah, I don’t want you guys to know the nitty-gritty details. It’s just… too… weird. Everyone keeps telling me that I just need to let it go, ya know? So, I’m trying to start over. I’m good, really.” Jon gave Daniel a weak smile. “So are we going to the mountain or what? Let’s go, Space Monkey.”

Daniel grinned and started up the truck. It was good to talk, or not talk, to Jack again, sort of. He sighed as he realized that Jon was right. It was weird.

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

They arrived at the mountain without any problems. Security eyed Jon with curiosity, but let him pass. It was only when he reached the briefing room that things were noticeably different.

“Where’s Hammond?” he asked Daniel over his shoulder. He was warily watching a blonde woman sitting behind General Hammond’s desk.

“Ahh, well, General Hammond has been transferred to DC to work directly for President Hayes.” Daniel explained. “That is Dr. Elizabeth Weir the new SGC commander. President Hayes thought that a civilian would provide better oversight to the SGC.”

“What?! Is he insane?” Jon paused, and held up a hand, “He must be, he did pick Kinsey for a running mate.”

Daniel smiled, “Don’t worry. She’s not so bad. She kicked Kinsey out of the mountain earlier this week.”

“Really, I must meet this woman,” Jon replied.

They walked over to the door and Daniel knocked. 

“Enter.”

They both walked into the office and Jon promptly sank down into one of the chairs across from the stunned woman. 

“Dr. Jackson, I take it you have a good explanation for bringing a teenager down here.”

“Oh, I like her, Daniel,” Jon snarked. “Tell me, Doc. How many of the mission reports have you read so far?” Dr. Weir looked very confused as Jon continued grilling her. “Have you gotten to the point where Apophis was killed, the first or second time? Daniel ascended? Daniel returned? Doc Frasier was killed? How much exactly do you know about this program’s history?”

Dr. Weir glared angrily at Jon then focused her anger back at Daniel, “And what exactly does a teenager know about this program?”

Jon turned to Daniel, ignoring her question, “Not far enough. How can she manage the SGC, if she doesn’t even know what’s happened to lead up to the current state of affairs?”

“Jon, just give her the facts. She’s not another Bauer. Really.”

“Fine.” Jon turned back to Dr. Weir. His lanky frame snapped out of the chair startling her. He stood at full attention. “Ma’am, Colonel Jonathan James O’Neill, currently inactive, reporting. I was cloned by a renegade Asgard named Loki approximately six months ago. I have all of the original Col O’Neill’s memories up to that point. Since then Col O’Neill, the original, has acted as my contact within the SGC. Because of our close resemblance, I took the identity of his nephew. I am currently here because something has happened to Jack and Daniel thinks you need me.”

“What?” exclaimed Daniel. “I thought I was getting you out of trouble. I didn’t say that.” The last statement was directed to Dr. Weir.

“You’re right, Daniel. You didn’t. You said that something happened to Jack and that we needed to go to the mountain. I just filled in the blanks.” Jon let a smirk cross his face never breaking his rigid stance.

“Right,” Dr. Weir felt once again out of her depth. She looked at Daniel for confirmation, “Is this all true?”

“Um, yes. To keep them separate, Jon decided to go with his given name rather than his nickname.” Daniel supplied.

“Yada, yada, water under the bridge.” Jon dropped from his picture perfect stance back into the chair. “Now what happened to Jack. Start with the last Friday,” Jon pushed impatiently.

“What makes you think anything happened… what… Friday, you say?” Daniel rambled, stalling for time. 

Jon sighed, “I have my ways.”

“Really, what ways?”

“Daniel?”

“Fine,” Daniel looked over to Dr. Weir seeking permission. He had never been good at verbal sparring with Jack. Why should his clone be any different.

“Go ahead, Dr. Jackson.”

“Um, we found another library of the ancients,” Daniel stated simply.

“Oh fer crying out loud, you let him put his head in that thing again. Daniel, you know better. Look at what happened the last time.”

“Jon, it wasn’t like that," Daniel exclaimed, feeling the need to justify his actions. "He stopped me and Sam from doing it and then had us blow it up. We were under attack. We needed the information, but couldn’t secure it. And we couldn’t let Anubis get his hands on it. Jack just… he just took the risk on himself,” Daniel hung his head, caught up in the memories, “like he always does.” He remembered being pushed out of the way; the look in Jack’s eyes as he made the decision and moved to execute it. 

Jon regarded his friend carefully, “Well, that explains the Jaffa. What happened next?”

Daniel looked perturbed, “Jaffa?”

“Come on, Daniel. What happen next?”

“Right… well… the download did its… thing, we flew to an ancient city… apparently for a power source… then flew back to Earth…” Daniel was too caught up in the painful memories of those last frantic moments to continue. Had it really been just yesterday?

“Col O’Neill then saved this planet from Anubis’ fleet,” Dr. Weir finished.

Jon looked down and put the pieces of his dreams together. “Fire. Then Ice. Big honkin’ space battle. Cold … “ He looked up at Dr. Weir. “Oh hell, he’s still in Antarctica.” 

“Jon?” Daniel started, confused at how fast Jon had put together everything with so few facts, nevermind the things he had specifically omitted.

Dr. Weir was equally confused, “How did…”

“No, Daniel. You know how much he hates that place. Why is he still there?”

“Please listen, Jon. We can’t move him. He’s in an ancient stasis pod. And we can’t get the controls to work,” Daniel explained. “You know we wouldn’t leave him there alone. Sam and Teal’c are there now.”

A thought brushed across Jon's mind, they couldn’t work it, but he could. “Show me.”

The rapid change in subject had Daniel off balance. “What?” he asked.

“Show me the chair.” Jon insisted.

“Out of the question,” exclaimed Dr. Weir.

“Why?” Daniel could see Jon’s intent expression. He could read it just like Jack’s. Jon knew something. Jon smiled, “Because I am the key to make it work.”

“What are you two talking about?” Dr Weir insisted.

“Really? You’re sure?” Daniel continued.

“Yes.”

“Hello. Am I invisible?” Dr Weir insisted. When their attention turned back to her, “What makes you think I’ll allow you to go anywhere, knowing what you know?”

Jon grinned, “Because without me the control chair won’t work.”

“How do you know it’s a chair? And why won’t it work without you?” she asked.

Jon’s grin faded. “I’m not sure. I just know.” He shrugged. “Like I know what happened to Jack, but not in context. I… just… know.” He raised his hands in surrender.

Dr. Weir looked between the two. Her gaze finally settled on Daniel, “are you sure this is a good idea?”

Daniel grew very serious, “I’m as sure as I can be.”

Dr. Weir sighed. Resigned, she stated, “I’ll allow you to go… providing… you are very cautious. If you can work the ancient console, then you are a very important resource.”

“Great, I’ll arrange it.” Daniel quickly got up and left the room.

Jon got up to follow, but turned back to her. “Thanks, Doc. I owe you one.”

An hour later, Dr. Weir received a report that the Tel’tac carrying Daniel and Jon taken off. It was currently on route to the Antarctic base. She sighed. General Hammond did warn her about this job and SG-1 in particular. But he also said that SG-1 was usually right, and all she had to do was trust them.

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

Jon flew the Tel’tac towards Antarctica using the navigation controls to pinpoint the ancient outpost. He missed this more than he thought. He had muscled Daniel out of the way in order to pilot the craft. Oddly, Daniel just let him take over. ‘I can’t drive a car, but I’m good to go in piloting an alien spaceship. Go figure.’

“So…” Jon started.

“Yeah,” Daniel sighed. 

“How’s Master Bray’tac doing? Healing well and all that?” Jon asked, trying for something less weird.

“What? Oh, he’s fine. Jack… Jack healed him,” Daniel stated. Wondering how Jon knew that Bray’tac had been injured.

Ok, so not less weird. “Healed, you say… As in used a device?”

“No, as in… the laying on of hands,” Daniel replied smoothly, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.

“Ah…” The silence echoed around them. Jon found it lonelier with his friend at his side, than he did all those months without him. He sighed softly, “Daniel…”

“Jon… it’s my fault… Again.”

“What?”

Daniel stared out the window as he continued. “I pushed him. I wanted to find the lost city so bad. We could have just blown the library and gotten away. Anubis wouldn’t have been able to stop us or get the information. But, I had to push… I had to know… He just wanted to blow it, but he stuck his head in that thing because I wanted to know.”

Jon could hear Daniel’s guilt choking his voice. But, he knew himself well enough to know that wasn’t the case. Jack had made a tactical decision. They needed information. They needed the weapons. The library had that information. He wouldn’t have sacrificed Daniel or Sam for information. No, Daniel had just reminded him of what needed to be done. Jon would have made the same choice.

“Daniel… that’s not true.”

“How do you know? You weren’t there,” Daniel accused, tears starting to track down his face.

Jon sighed, “Daniel, for all intents and purposes, I am him. I would have made the same decision. You NEEDED the information. He doesn’t want to die, but sacrificing you or Carter just isn’t an option. Never has been. You know that.” Jon looked Daniel in the eye. “Besides, you and Carter stand the best chance of saving him. He definitely knows that. He’s already bet his life on your skills several times over. This time is no different.” Jon smiled as he saw Daniel think through his logic. “So, enough with the water works. You know we don’t do well with the emotional stuff.”

“We?”

“Well, there is more than one of me. And I get the feeling that the old guy would agree.”

“Right. And thanks.” Daniel turned back to the window. “We should be there soon.”

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

Daniel and Jon transported down to the outpost using the rings. They were immediately confronted by Teal’c and two airmen. Teal’c waved off the airmen before greeting them. “Daniel Jackson. O’Neill. It is good to see you both.”

“Thanks, T.” Jon grinned at his big friend. “Where’s Carter?”

Teal’c gave him a slight nod, “She is endeavoring to extract the secrets of this place.”

“Ah… playing with the doohickeys. Lead on.” 

Teal’c led them down the short hall towards the room with the control chair. However, he paused just before one of the walls and gave a slight bow. When he moved, Jon could see Jack frozen in the stasis unit. 

The last six months had given him time to adjust to his new appearance, it had eased some of the weirdness of looking at himself without a mirror. It was still weird, but he didn’t feel compelled to look away. 

Jack was frozen and staring at a specific spot. For once, his gaze was not guarded. He looked almost sad and apologetic. 

Jon shook off a shudder as he continued after Teal’c. Daniel may think that Jack stuck his head in the blender because he asked, but Jon knew that only three people could convince him to willingly freeze himself just to stay alive. Death held no mystery for him. It was a comforting old friend. But to allow himself to be helpless and at the mercy of others, was completely different. He would only do that for the sake of his team. 

Jon rounded the corner to come face to face with the control chair. “Sweet,” he exclaimed.

Sam turned at his voice, shock and hope in her eyes. He watched the disappointment flood in with her recognition. “Jon.”

Jon was hurt by her disappointment, but consoled himself with the truth. Jon wasn’t Jack. He had spent six months making that very clear to himself. But it still hurt. 

“So, this is the thing, huh.” He grinned at her nod. “Mind if I take her for a spin?” 

Sam frowned, “Sure, it hasn’t done anything for us. Not even…” 

She stopped as the control chair lit up as soon as he sat in it. Jon leaned back and started to play with the controls. Menus and options began to flash by too rapid to read. Then finally, the screen settled on a graphic of Earth. It pinpointed one spot in orbit and started relaying data. Shortly, a secondary screen popped up showing the local TV listings. 

“Damn,” Jon exclaimed. “I just missed the Simpson’s.” 

His voice startled the others back from their shocked silence. “Wow, si… Jon, how did you get it to work?” Sam asked.

Jon glanced at her, “I don’t know. I just think and it works.” As he said that the console changed and began to pull of detailed scientific schematics. 

“Hey, I recognize that,” Daniel stated. “That’s a DNA strand. What’s it say… securus por novus… clavis… vita codex… claviger…” Daniel mumbled under his breath trying to translate.

Teal’c’s deep voice echoed through the room, “To make it safe for the young races, the keys are in the code of life. Only the key-holders are allowed access.”

“Um, wow.” Daniel stated simply.

Sam looked thoughtful, “Code of life… DNA… They secured their technology with a DNA signature? Wow! That would explain why the Gou’uld haven’t been able to use most of the ancient technology. But how did the Colonel get the key?”

“Maybe it was the ancient download?” Daniel suggested. “It triggered other physical changes; why not rewrite DNA to boot?”

“Ack! Not going to go there!” Jon’s voice silenced the other two scientists. He glared at them. “If you continue to read,” he gestured back to the view screen. “It specifically states that the key was given to the most trustworthy of the younger races during the time of the plague.”

“You read Ancient?” Daniel asked, slightly stunned.

“Daniel. Time loop, remember?” Jon glared at him a moment longer. “Any whoo, I’m betting that it is just random dumb luck that I… we… have this ‘key.’ O’Neills have a history of random dumb luck.”

Sam became excited as she thought over the implications, “That means there could be more people with the key. That may also be why the ancient library reacted to the Colonel, but not Teal’c. We originally assumed it was the Gou’uld larva. What if we were wrong? We need to test everyone within the SGC…”

“Whoa, Carter.” Jon cut her off. “Hold yer horses. Ya might want to let this Dr. Weir person know that you got it working first. Then there’s Jack…” Jon let the thought trail off. 

Daniel and Sam both looked away guiltily. They had almost forgotten about their friend in their excitement. Finding a way to remove the ancient download and revive Jack had to take priority over new discoveries. 

“Carter, you and Teal’c go let the boss know what’s going on. Daniel and I will try to find anything about the old library.” Jon tossed out the orders without thinking, momentarily forgetting that he was no longer a Colonel. 

Sam bucked at being ordered around by Jon, but took the orders at face value. He was right. But, she was in charge. She should have already given the same orders. Guilt and self-doubt assaulted her as she nodded to Teal’c and they started for the rings. 

Daniel watched them go and turned back to Jon. He was already whizzing through the database again. Occasionally, one screen would stay up longer than another. Eventually, he stopped searching and sat up, deactivating the chair. 

“Jon?”

“Sorry, Daniel, I’m starving and this thing is giving me a headache.”

Daniel cursed himself as he remembered his original reason for contacting Jon. Or rather Jon’s school contacting them. He wasn’t sleeping well. Looking at him now, he could see Jon wearing exhaustion like a cloak. “Ok, eat, rest, and then we’ll try again later. We have the rations stored over here.”

Daniel led Jon to a small alcove that was stacked with MRE boxes and had several cots setup. Jon sorted through the meals until one caught his fancy.

Daniel waited until he was well into his meal before asking, “So, how come you aren’t sleeping well?”

“Hum?”

“Not sleeping. School’s concerned, remember?” Daniel asked again.

“Oh, that… just weird dreams.” Jon replied casually.

“Nightmares?”

“No more than usual. I got a handle on it now. Should sleep like a baby.” Jon’s last statement was punctuated with a big yawn. He shoveled the last of his meal into his mouth, then tossed the trash in a bag by the boxes. He was about to lay down when they heard Sam and Teal’c stomping down the corridor.

\--SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG----SG—

Sam and Teal’c returned from the Tel’tac fuming. In fact, Sam had spent several minutes in the Tel’tac trying to kick the blast door into submission. She failed and was limping now as a result, but she did regain control of her temper.

They were being ordered to leave. The International Oversight Committee was terrified of a weapon with that much power in the hands of the Americans. Never mind that the Americans had just saved their collective asses with said weapon just the day before. Nope, they wanted nothing but complete withdrawal from the Ancient outpost, post-haste. 

And that was before she told them that they had someone else who could work the weapon. She didn’t specify who that someone else was, but Dr. Weir understood. The fact that they couldn’t take the stasis pod with them was a point of negotiation that Dr. Weir was currently wrangling.

Daniel took one look at Sam’s face and knew something was wrong. “Sam?”

“Politics and bureaucrats,” she spat. “I want to zat them all, not once, not twice, but three times.” She continued stalking around the room trying to find words around her anger. She tossed Teal’c pleading look.

“We are ordered to return to the SGC,” Teal’c supplied.

“What? We can’t. What about Jack?” Jon exclaimed.

Sam found her words, “Apparently, since he’s in stasis, he can wait for a ‘diplomatic’ solution. In the mean time, no one trusts the American’s with the ‘big honkin’ space gun.’”

“That’s insane,” Daniel replied.

Sam gave him a knowing look. 

“Indeed, had the American’s intended to attack, they would not require the ancient weapon; they already posses a more than adequate arsenal.” Teal’c’s reasoning caught the two scientists by surprise. 

“Really?” Daniel asked. 

Teal’c merely nodded in reply. “Well, I guess we have our marching orders.”

Sam sighed in frustration, “Lets start loading the Tel’tac.”

After everything was loaded, they each took a moment to say good-bye to Jack. He would stand in silent vigil over the ancient outpost. 

Jon was the last to leave. “Hey, don’t sweat it. They’ll be back. They just can’t stay away, ya know. In the mean time, I’m going to head up to the cabin for the summer. Stop by if you decide to wake up. We have got to have a talk about this funky dream thing. Talk at you later, old man. Pleasant dreams.”

CONTINUED IN ‘AYE, THERES THE RUB’


End file.
